Details : In 1888 the Russian composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov\nwrote the symphonic suite Scheherazade, based on \nancient tales entitled either The Arabian Nights or A \nThousand and One Nights. According to the story, the\nSultan of Schabriar, convinced of the faithlessness of\nwomen swears to put to death each of his wives the day\nafter their wedding night. The Sultana Scheherazade \nsaves her life by interesting him in tales which she relates\nto him on one thousand and one successive nights. Each\nday the fascinated sultan postpones his wife's execution \nand in the end abandons his bloody plan.\n\nThe commanding initial theme depicts the mighty sultan, \nwhile the ensuing violin solo represents Scheherazade. In\n"The Sea and Sinbad's Ship" the sultan's theme dominates,\ngenerally bursting forth in choleric anger but sometimes\nadopting a more passionate tone, suggesting the heroine's\nfirst successes.\n\nIn the second movement, "The Story of the Kalender\nPrince" where the prince masquerades as a dervish, the\nsultan continues to interrupt with peremptory gestures, but\nthe seductive narrator maintains the upper hand. By the\nthurd mocement, Scheherazade has twisted the sultan \naround her little finger to such an extent that he listens to\nher romantic story about "The Young Prince and the Young\nPrincess" without offering any resistance.\n\nThe finale is in three parts: "Festival at Baghdad," "The \nSea" and "Shipwreck". First heard is the sultan's theme,\nsucceeded by the voice of Scheherazade, seeming a bit \nfrantic to save her life. A rhythmic section suggesting\nOriental revels precedes a vivid depiction of a storm and\nshipwreck. In the conclusion Scheherazade appears to\ntemper the sultan's theme, suggesting that they will live\nhappily ever after in true fairy-tale fasion.\n\nLe Coq D'or (The Golden Cockerel), the last of Rimsky's\nfifteen opera, did not premiere until 1909, after the \ncomposer's death, because Russian censors felt the work\ninsulting to the tsar. And, indeed, autocratic King Dodon\nappears a bumbling, lazy fool. With hus army commander\nPolkan in attendance, the king wonders how to avoid wars.\nAfter some fairly ridiculous suggestions, an astrologer \nappears with a golden cockerel, who, he says, can \npredict when war is eminent. The king promises the \nastrologer any reward he wants, but the astrologer takes a\nraincheck on this, and the king soon falls peacefully \nasleep. When he dreams of the Queen of Shemakha, the \ncockerel sounds his warning.\n\nThe king and his two sons prepare for war. After finding \nthem dead (they evidently have killed each other in battle),\nthe king is seduced by the Shemakhan queen, who talks \nhim into banishing his army commander. The king has a \nbetter idea and sentences Polkan to be beheaded. After\na wedding procession for the marriage of Dodon and the\nqueen, the astrologer claims his reward: the queen. The \nking reneges on his promise and kills the astrologer; the\ncockerel kills Dodon; and the bird and queen depart.\nThe astrologer reappears to assure the audience that the \nbloody turn of events that they have just witnessed is \nmerely a fairy tale and that in Dodon's domain only he -\nthe astrologer - and the queen were real people.
